If you’re down with doing 108 Sun Salutes, this might be an for you. In 2007, Shiva Rea helped start this worldwide yoga event to help raise consciousness for peace and the key environmental issue of global warming.

On Sunday, September 21st on the Boston Common and at the Cyclorama, the Boston area yoga community will gather for a day of yoga practices to bring awareness and raise consciousness for PEACE and MOTHER EARTH.

The date of September 21st is also significant because it is the UN International Peace Day. Last year, there were over 400 Global Mala events in 35 countries.

There are many ways to be involved. By participating in the Yoga Mala in the morning or afternoon, you can dedicate your practice of 108 Sun Salutations for peace and any other important intention. In the evening, you can listen and be inspired by Lama Surya Das and then chant in a kirtan led by David Newman, an amazing kirtan wallah from Philadelphia.

MORNINGA silent, meditative yoga mala at the Boston Common led by:

Daniel Orlansky

Glen Cunningham (Sadhana Studios)

Amy Leydon (Sportsclub-LA/Boston)

Kim Valeri (Yoga Spirit Studios)

Kirtan with Prajna

AFTERNOON
Yoga Mala with music and chanting in many yoga traditions (teaching order to be determined)

Om is more than a word – it is an intonation, like music or vibration. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, essentially “A” – “U” – “M”. It is often said that the sound of Om contains in it all other sounds. In the Upanishads Om is considered to be an all-encompassing mystical entity- the voice of God, or as I like to think of it, the sound of the universe. As sacred texts declare, the vibration of Om is supposed to penetrate one’s soul, transcend the past, present and future, and reveal the truth.

So the question remains: om or no om?

Having been a past practitioner at Jivamukti where they chant, A LOT, in their classes I have built up a tolerance to chanting in general. I enjoy it- but on occasion and in the right place at the right time. In fact, I have to admit I’m not one who enjoys chanting when I show up to a yoga class expecting to jump right into the physical aspect.

I do however, ALWAYS enjoy chanting om at the beginning and end of the class. My favorite is actually chanting om in rounds. Not exactly, Row Row Your Boat style but more or less just following the rise and fall of your own breath rather than the instructor/leader of the chant. I like to imagine that there must be times when all the yogis around Manhattan (i.e. Union Square) are chanting om at once given that there are so many studios with similar class schedules. You would think there must be a few hundred people chanting om come 7:30 on the weekdays across Manhattan. Pretty cool, huh?

What I find odd, and actually awkward is some classes choose to chant om at the start of class and not at the end (Dana Strong does this at YogaWorks). There’s something about closing with om that makes you feel full or satisfied. Maybe it’s just me. But as my teaching philosophy has developed I believe whole heartedly in om, and less so in chanting before class. Truth is, I’m there to practice like everyone else and chanting (while nice) is sometimes hard to fit into the hour and a half you’re on the mat. Oh and what’s up with instructors who pick obscure chants that no one can repeat – that’s just uncomfortable for everyone!

NPR, Morning Edition, June 04, 2008 – India’s army conducted a three-month study in which soldiers did more yoga poses than traditional exercise. The idea was that the stress-relieving practice could be a way to train deadlier fighters. Researchers found that fighters had steadier hands and stronger grips than peers who stuck to standard physical training.

“East meets West in the Deep South. An overcrowded maximum-security prison–the end of the line in Alabama’s correctional system–is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who will never see the light of day. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when Donaldson Correction Facility becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. ~ Baseline StudioSystems”

Really intriguing yet I still haven’t had the opportunity to see it. If any of you out there has, please let us know what you think! For more information or to watch the trailer visit the official website: http://www.dhammabrothers.com/. Does anyone know where it’s playing in New York? I will try and find out and post more info soon!